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Spongebob Squarepants (band)
'Spongebob Squarepants '''is a rock band from Ireland. Originating in 1967, the band burst onto the scene with jam sessions during live concerts and revolutionary psychedelic rock music. Formation Era (1967) The band started with bassist Spongebob and college friend Patrick Star jamming frequently for friends. The band was originally titled "Bikini Bottom's Best" with Squarepants on vocals and bass and Star on drums. Squidward joined the band when he went to a jam session and played his rough around the edges clarinet and keyboard. The band knew he was a fit when he showed them his self written sheet music. Squidward, a relatively clean man and classical composer was very scared by Squarepants and Star at first, not knowing about LSD or underground culture. Still, Squidward secured a friendship with Star and started playing jams with the band. On July 27, 1967, only 6 months after the formation of the band, the band played their first gig at an open mic where they got a 30 minute set. They played mostly blues covers like Chuck Berry and B.B. King songs. Squidward met with Spongebob later that day where they wrote "Are Ya Ready, Kids?". The band played more gigs before Squidward left to pursue his degree in music theory. The band shortly hired Eugene Krabs on guitar and the band got to playing underground gigs over the course of August to October. Krabs and Star penned the happy "Best Day Ever" and the gloomy, bluesy "Texas Song". On October 28, the band flew over to Wales, where they met Karen, wife of a record producer named Plankton. They met up with Plankton after the gig and Plankton agreed to let them record a 45 minute demo. The session opened with "Are Ya Ready, Kids?" in its full 13 minute form without keyboard, and then they recorded the 3 minute "Texas Song", and then a jam session of "Johnny B Goode/Best Day Ever" that ran to 15 minutes. The fourth and final song was a variation of Fats Domino's "Blueberry Hill". The band played on local radios and gigs and were starting to be recognized and bootlegged heavily. The group hired back Squidward and a new, skilled bassist, Sandy Cheeks. 1968 On January 16, Krabs and Squarepants penned another track, "Gary Come Home". They started playing it at local venues and got 1 hour sets. Krabs realized they needed more songs and needed to go with the times. Star had recently heard a song by the Who on the radio and knew that he wanted the group to be like them. Star approached Krabs and said they needed to make harder songs, and they rewrote songs with the help of Cheeks and Tentacles. The band changed their name to 'Squarepants' and then to 'Spongebob Squarepants', but are called SBSP by the band and the fans. In March, the band went into a studio and recorded the new version of "Are Ya Ready, Kids?" and "Best Day Ever". The track started getting radio play and became a hit single for the band. However, it didn't reach the US yet. The band performed 3000 person shows in the summer and Krabs and Squarepants wrote 6 new tracks, "Bikini Bottom Blues", "Old Man Jenkins", "Who Are You People?", "Krabby Patty", "Ravioli Ravioli", and "Davy Jones' Locker". The band returned to the studio to record "Gary Come Home" and "Who Are You People?". Plankton persuaded "Gary Come Home" to be the A-side. The band agreed and the next day it was at the top of the charts in America. In December, they flew to New York and performed a 45 minute set every day of a week. Chart Success & ''"Bikini Bottom Blues" ''(1969) The 1969 British Tour On January 23rd, SBSP started their 57-show tour in a Dublin pub, riding on the success of their three radio hits - "Are Ya Ready, Kids?", "Gary Come Home", and "Texas Song". They played famous blues and rock songs from the mid-60s and their three radio hits until Squarepants had an infamous freakout on February 3, where he wanted to play their songs and not Beatles hits. The tour concluded on March 26th, with Krabs and Squarepants hitting the studio on March 29th to record demos of every song they had written up to that point with guitar and bass and Krabs hitting percussion on his guitar or Squarepants on his bass. They also wrote one new song in that session, "Krusty Krab Pizza". Recording "Bikini Bottom Blues" Krabs brought the cassette with the demos to the group at a jam session. Squidward loved the new track they had written and recorded, and Star played drums over the recordings as they listened. Shortly after they recorded the demos, Squarepants' girlfriend had broken up with him and he was evicted, moving in with Krabs. The group brought the demos to Plankton, who loved the new songs and agreed they would be hits if they hired some more musicians. Against Squarepants' will, the band hired session musicians for some tracks, which, according to Star, Squarepants stormed out upon hearing them. The first session was on April 4th, with the band recording a more polished "Are Ya Ready, Kids?" and "Bikini Bottom Blues". Later that evening, Star and Krabs recorded the instrumental "Ravioli Ravioli". The following week the album was completed, along with Tentacles performing with his more standard blues group "Squilliam" on the side. Tentacles arranged an orchestral "Krusty Krab Pizza" and "Texas Song", in lieu to The Beatles' "Yesterday". Shortly after the album was completed, the band fought titles. Some alternate titles were "Krusty Krab", "Fry Cook" (both references to Squarepants' old job at the Krusty Krab), "Are Ya Ready, Kids?" until finally they settled on "Bikini Bottom Blues", a reference to a song on the record. Winter 1969 Tour SBSP performed 14 shows from November 30th to December 13th in various venues in Scotland as the release tour for "Bikini Bottom Blues". The album dropped on December 17th to little hype, and only a few people picked it up upon release. Critics called the album "pretentious and meh at best". The album was released on December 19th in America, where it got the ball rolling, selling 547,000 in the first week. The band went on a short tour around New England hotspots from December 23rd to December 31st. "''Bikini Bottom Blues: Live" ''and ''"Without You" ''(1970 - 1971) Bikini Bottom Blues Tour (1970 - 1971) In the wake of the success of "Bikini Bottom Blues" in America and now, Mainland Europe, SBSP embarked on a year-long tour of Europe, leaving little time to record or write. The few songs that they could punch in were a long orchestral piece called "Clarinet Song in E" and Krabs' penned "Without You". The group traveled around the globe for this tour, and Squarepants' mental health started deteriorating and his drug use got higher and more abusive. It was around this time Squarepants had locked himself in his room and learned the piano before going out on stage. For 15 hours, Squarepants had been writing songs in his room. He had written 16 new songs and played them all in an encore of the show. Halfway through, the band left the stage and let Squarepants perform. The songs were hits for the audience, so Squarepants got an idea. In May, Squarepants briefly stopped touring to record his solo album, "Krabby Krabby". He joined back in late June. Krabs and Tentacles wrote "Money & Doves" and "Goofy Goober Rock". Squarepants had surrendered one song from his album, "Ripped Pants". ''"Bikini Bottom Blues: Live" Tentacles, Star, and Krabs went into the studio to overdub and fix up some performances on the Bikini Bottom Blues Tour so they could release it as a live album, a rarity in 1970. The album was released on a break in November. The tour ended on January 24, 1971 with Squarepants writing with "F.U.N." and "Campfire Song Song". Krabs penned the stadium anthem "Sweet Victory" while Star wrote his first song, "Striped Sweater". Tentacles and Squarepants penned "Loop De Loop" and "Jellyfish Jam". "Bikini Bottom Blues: Live" sold very well, and the group secured enough money to spend time in the studio in the spring of 1971. Recording "Without You" In May 1971, SBSP went into the studio to record their second record "Without You". They first recorded the instrumentals - "Jellyfish Jam" and half of "Loop De Loop". The group released a single "Now That We're Men"/"Bikini Bottom Blues II". It got some praise, but barely any. The group recorded the album over the course of 6 months, eventually Squarepants liked it and the band released the album internationally on November 16th, 1971. The album was such a hit that some stations would play the entire record, but most were affixed on the two singles from the album, the double A-side "Without You"/"Ripped Pants", and "F.U.N."/"Jellyfish Jam". Some stations would even play "Now That We're Men" or "Bikini Bottom Blues". Tentacles became the group's manager after Plankton got into a car accident and died in December of 1971. The Little House Tour The Little House Tour was spawned from Squarepants wanting to play in smaller venues, and they played acoustic sets at around 30 minutes long. The tour abruptly ended on December 18th, only 16 days after its start, as Squarepants had overdosed and it was believed to be fatal. Drugs, Touring, and "Goofy Goober Rock" ''(1972 - 1974) Squarepants was wheeled into the hospital on December 20th, 1971 after overdosing on LSD and other painkillers. Krabs and Tentacles debunked rumours Squarepants was dead (in reality he could have died very quickly if he wasn't taken into the hospital. Squarepants was in a coma until January 2nd, 1972. He cut off communication after he got into the hospital and Tentacles had to find Squarepants in an alleyway for him to be dragged away. The Second Little House Tour Squarepants was keen on getting his acoustic tour idea out there, so he took Krabs and Star and started a tour on March 15th, 1972, where they played songs from all their records, including "Krabby Krabby". Tentacles, furious that he and Cheeks were left out, demanded into the tour. Krabs let them play backstage, but Squarepants refused to let them use electricity. The tour was extremely hectic, and Squarepants would often wear glammy outfits and invite druggies on stage to take things with them. The tour laid its last breath on June 27th, 1972, when Squarepants didn't show up to the show, as he was doing drugs and having sex in an alleyway near the venue. Without You Tour (1972 - 1973) Tentacles told Squarepants they could only make money if they did big shows, so Squarepants agreed to do stadium shows. The tour began on August 29th, at Shea Stadium in New York City. They went to famous places around the world, including Wembley Stadium and the Hammersmith Odeon. The tour ended on February 28th, 1973. During the tour, Squarepants penned 3 songs, the rebellion fueled "Hey, Mean Mr. Bossman", the piano ballad "That's What Friends Do", and a more arena-fitting, shorter version of "Goofy Goober Rock", intended for "Without You". He also rewrote "Now That We're Men" for an album, a 6 minute entertainer of a song. Tentacles secured a deal with Reprise Records. Krabs wrote "He's Flying", "Bossy Boots", and "When Worlds Collide". Tentacles and Squarepants collaborated on the 8-minute hit "So Long, Bikini Bottom". Recording ''"Goofy Goober Rock" The band entered the studio on November 17th, 1973 and recorded Cheeks' first song, the ironic "It's All About You". They also recorded the new "Goofy Goober Rock" and "When Worlds Collide". In December they recorded and overdubbed "So Long, Bikini Bottom". In the beginning of 1974, they recorded the rest of the album. "Goofy Goober Rock" ''was released on April 2nd, 1974. ''"Who Am I?" and marriage (1974 - 1975) work in progress Legacy SBSP has been a rock icon since 1967, and their albums have inspired many. Here's a few people who've said they've been inspired by the group. * Elton John * King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard * Pink Floyd * Kanye West * Tom Kenny * Freddie Mercury * Bruce Springsteen These amazing influencers being influenced by SBSP must show you something about their quality and impact on the world of rock. In popular culture The songs "Without You", "Bikini Bottom Blues", and "Who Am I?" have been used in countless films, as samples, and been covered many times. Film An SBSP biopic was considered, but the band didn't want it to be made out of respect for Cheeks, who passed in 1996. Personnel Current members Spongebob Squarepants - vocals, piano, bass (1967 - 1996, 2015 - present) Eugene Krabs - vocals, guitars (1967, 1996, 2015 - present) Squidward Tentacles - vocals, keyboards (1967 - 1996, 2015 - present) Bubble Bass - vocals, drums (1983, 2015 - 2017, 2018 - present) Former members Patrick Star - vocals, drums (1967 - 1983, 1984 - 1996, 2015 - 2016 Sandy Cheeks - vocals, bass, acoustic guitar (1967 - 1996) Pearl Krabs - drums (2017) Discography * ''Bikini Bottom Blues ''(1969) * ''Without You ''(1971) * ''Goofy Goober Rock ''(1974) * ''Who Am I? ''(1974) * ''Down the Well ''(1976) * ''With SBSP ''(1978) * ''A Day Like This ''(1981) * ''Dear Friend ''(1986) * ''Last Time ''(1993) see Spongebob Squarepants discography